According to document
"SANCO/2367/2008 - Rev 1"- Draft COMMISSION DECISION
of establishing Community reserves of vaccines against African
horse sickness (Memorandum from Mrs A.Vassiliou. Paragraph (3)
of the whereases of the following document states the following:

The persistent circulation
of bluetongue virus in certain Member States is sufficient
proof for the almost uninterrupted presence of competent
vectors in the affected areas. The AHS-virus and bluetongue
virus are transmitted by the same vector Culicoides and
therefore the risk of virus introduction into Member States is
higher than negligible. The bluetongue affected parts of the
Community are also core breeding grounds for valuable horse
populations that are thus particularly threatened by AHS.

Of the 24 known serotypes of
the Bluetongue Virus (BTV) six are already prevalent in the EU,
causing great distress to both animals and farmers in the
affected member states. Given the urgent economic and animal
welfare need to counter BTV outbreaks in the EU, the development
of an EU vaccine bank for BTV is of upmost importance.

Can the Commission therefore
explain why it is planning a vaccine bank for African Horse
sickness but not for Bluetongue virus?